It is common practice to manufacture doors that are pre-hung in a frame. This simplifies the installation and reduces the cost. The door is secured to the frame to prevent damage during shipment and handling. Currently, door retainers such as the door retainer of U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,782, are utilized to secure the pre-hung door and the frame in position relative to each other. The door retainer is generally of a plastic material and is configured to fit into the edge bore of the door and is movable to extend into the bore in the strike side of the frame provided for the latch mechanism. The retainer is threaded internally to receive a threaded locking member. The retainer is configured so that it may be inserted into the edge bore of the door through the door's face bore. The retainer is of sufficient length to extend into the bore of the strike jamb. Extending lobes on the retainer engage the arc surface of the face bore of the door to limit the entry of the retainer in the edge bore. The threaded locking member is then inserted through the backside of the bore in the strike jamb and is threadably installed in the threaded end of the retainer to effectively secure the door and frame one to the other.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,101, Berzina is a retaining strap for securing a pre-hung door in a closed position. The strap has a projection on one end that is inserted through the face bore of the door to reside in the end of the edge bore of the door adjacent the face bore. The strap is then wrapped under tension around the face of the door and the lock set lamb and is secured to the face of the lock set jamb as by stapling. This type of retainer does not provide for positive latching of the door to the lock set jamb by engaging both the bore in the lock set jamb and the edge bore of the door. It relies on the tension of the strap as the securing apparatus.
Many of the pre-hung doors are, however, arranged for a side light, that is a window is to be provided adjacent either side of the door. The mullion for the window is secured to (or integrally formed with) the strike side of the door frame when the side light is to be provided adjacent the strike side. This prevents installation of the threaded locking member of the one type of retainer into the door retainer since the bore for the latch in the strike side does not extend through the window mullion. The strap type retainer is not suited since the stapling of the strap to the face of the window mullion would blemish the mullion.
It is just as desirable to secure a pre-hung door in a closed position relative to the frame when a side light is to be provided. All of the benefits of protecting the door and frame are realized when the door is secured. The present invention is a retainer that fills that need.